Friday, June 28, 2013

Outsourcing task or getting products from an outsourced
vendor can help small businesses grow by freeing up more time to do whatever is
at the core of the business even more effectively. You might know exactly what
you need to outsource and who you’re going to work with, or you may be in that
crucial decision making process. If outsourcing is still a future plan,
consider these aspects before you do so.

How established is the vendor or individual? Have they been
around for a long time or are they just starting out? Is there track record for
deadlines, quality, and customer service positive or shaky? The way this vendor
runs their business will affect how you run yours, so do your research to make
sure this affect is positive for you. Check references and contact some of
their other clients to get a better idea of how they work.

How will you monitor the vendor’s impact? Develop a system
for keeping track of what they are doing, how long key processes are taking,
and evaluating whether you investment in this company is worth the time for
your business. Another thing to think about is are your employees comfortable
with this new vendor’s relationship with the company? Some positions may not be
effected at all and others may be directly. Have you had a conversation about
the upcoming changes while addressing their concerns?

Have you set expectations and goals for the vendor and
communicated them? Both businesses need to know what is expected from the other
to make this partnership run smoothly.Be specific and get assurance that they are confident they can meet all
of your needs and expectations before things are finalized. Finally, how will
you communicate the ins and outs of your business with the vendor? What methods
and schedules will you have for communication in general? Working this out
ahead of time will save you stress down the road. They will need to be absorbed
in the key knowledge of your business that impacts what they’ll be doing for
you. Make it happen!

Friday, June 21, 2013

In recent years, more and more online training websites have
developed. Many offer employers a membership which the entire team can access
and lessons are free to watch once the company has joined. The courses are
often very long, but broken down into short chapters that allow the employee to
choose which ones are most relevant and complete the course at their own pace.
Some even have practice files attached so that employees can interactively try
out what they’ve learned.A few popular
ones include Lynda.com, TotalTraining.com, and W3Schools.com. It’s also fairly
easy for a company to create its own online learning system through a Moodle
account. Some focus on a particular area such as software programs or
marketing, and others cover many subjects and employee might want to learn more
about. Do your employees need to take online training courses and what are the
benefits of these programs?

While an employee has to have a developed skill set to
perform successfully, they can never run out of things to learn and should
always be expanding their knowledge. If the company adopts new procedures or
software programs, employees unfamiliar with them can get up to speed in a
matter of hours. Most courses offer certificates of completion, which is good
for the company reputation and the employee’s resume. If an employee gets
promoted, they might need to brush up on some of the new skills they will be
using, which can be possible through online training. If employees seek out
these opportunities on their own, that shows their dedication to the company
and to developing their career.You may
recommend or require your employees to complete short lessons during work time
on a schedule or go through complete courses on their own time. Whatever you
decide, always encourage continued learning, online or offline. The online
versions can be a cost effective method of accomplishing this.

If you want to implement a program like this, start by
researching different websites and choosing one to create an account with. Then
introduce your team to the training through a brief meeting and provide them
with the login credentials. Assure them that this is meant for personal growth,
not an indication that their skills are not up to par. Then suggest or require
a schedule of doing these and ask for updates regularly. Make it happen!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

An internship is a mutually beneficial experience for both
the company and the intern.As a small
business owner, you get an eager individual ready to help out and learn. They
receive great experience for their resume. The terms of internships vary
greatly—they may be seasonal (during the school year or summer), temporary (3
to 6 months), very part time or nearly full time, and paid or unpaid. The
bigger question is after an intern completes the internship, should you hire
them on as a regular, full time employee?

The first thing to consider is before you hire an intern,
choose someone who you can envision one day being an employee. While interns
don’t always continue their career at that company, the best case scenario is
that their position lines up perfectly with their career goals and they turn
out to be a rock star that you would love to have as an employee. The worst
that could happen is they fulfill a need for a short period of time and you go
your separate ways. But it is much easier to fill an open full time position by
promoting an intern that by hiring a totally new candidate. Even if they have
to finish school before they can start, it could be well worth the wait for the
right person for the job.

Another thing to remember is offer paid internships if at
all possible. There are plenty of talented young people out there who just
can’t afford to spend time in an unpaid internship, so you don’t want to miss
out on potential talent by only offering college credit—although that is a good
benefit. The most important thing is to provide them with a value equal to the
time and responsibilities you are giving them. You also don’t want to be too
flexible with the time frame. Give a firm start date, end date, number of hours
per week, and when they can expect to be offered a full time position or not.
You can offer a small bonus for completing their commitment to the company.

The bottom line? If an intern doesn’t offer the level of
skills and personality you were hoping for, kindly send them on their way at
the completion of the internship. But if you think they have the potential to
grow with the company, consider offering the next open position to them.